Sunday, October 30, 2011

The beautiful and talented Elizabeth Mueller's new young adult paranormal romance Darkspell is now available to order on Amazon.com!

About the BookWinter Sky believes she is everything ordinary ... until she is kissed by Alex Stormhold. As seer of Stormhold Coven, Alex is sworn to be Winter's protector against the darkness that hunts her. Violently thrust into a magical realm she always thought impossible, she stumbles upon a disturbing secret of her own. Will love prove thicker than magic? Included in this volume are author-created illustrations that bestselling author Ellen C. Maze calls a mind blowing treat. Darkspell is classified as a Young Adult Paranormal Romance that will appeal beyond the genre.

About the AuthorElizabeth Mueller knew that books couldn’t bite, but even though she never admitted, she was scared of them. What she didn’t know, ironically, was that she was building her way toward a career in books. She started writing poetry when she was 9, and stories when she was 11 that make her laugh now. It wasn’t until her creative writing teacher in 12th grade made her realize there was more to writing than life. That’s when she fell in love with books. She hasn’t stopped since, feverishly working to perfect the craft late into the night. She lives with her husband, four kids, a wolfdog, and two cats. Darkspell is her first novel. You can find her at elizabethmueller.blogspot.com or AuthorElizabethMueller.com, and email her at elizabeth.mueller.author@gmail.com

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Thought for the Day"You have the ability to do and be anything you desire if you put your mind to it."Melissa Perry Moraja

I've been asked many times how I come up with stories for my books. My answer is never the same because each heroine I come up with kind of writes her own story. Most have some of my attributes, or in the case of The Legacy, a lot of them, because I draw upon experiences in my life- not all but some. And there has definitely been much in my life to draw upon. Because my past was devoid of fluff, my stories have enough fluff (meaningful fluff) to fill a pillow. I'm all about the fluff, and that's the way my fans like it:-)So over the next few weeks, I will be featuring a few of the heroines of some of my stories, sharing excerpts to help you get to know them better. And since most of my books are written in first person, you are actually getting inside the head of each woman.

Heroine: RaineBook: Against the OddsExcerpt:

Atlanta, GA

I was angry. No, correction, I was livid! But more than anything, I was just plain tired.

“Sign them,” I said, tossing the folded divorce papers on the desk.

When Jerome looked up at me, I saw a mixture of incredulity, arrogance, and even a little sorrow play across his features. He stood and came around the desk.

“Raine,” he said, drawing out my name in the whiny way that had grown to be completely annoying a long time ago. “Come on, girl. You don't want to do this.”

I knew that same old tired line was coming, but it still amazed me that he was continuing to hang on, even when there was absolutely nothing left to hang on to. I stood silently for a moment, allowing my eyes to roam from his expensive Italian loafers, up his dark gray double-breasted three-piece suit, crisp white shirt and silk tie, finally resting my gaze on what I once thought was a handsome face.

I took in his smooth, dark skin and immaculately trimmed hair. Not able to help it, my thoughts went back to a time when I thought he was the most amazing black man in the world. I was eighteen, fresh out of high school, young and naive. He was smooth, he was sharp, and he was sexy.

None of these things should have been the basis for marriage, but sadly, for me they were. Oh, I knew it had been more lust than love. Still, when Jerome proposed to me over seven years ago during a candle-lit dinner in his Peachtree Towers office, I had accepted. I had been mesmerized by his money, his power, and his position, which he used to help me get into Zuri, one of the top modeling agencies in Atlanta. Everything seemed right with the world when I was with him. And he was pleased to have me adorning his arm at the many social functions we attended.

Through the years I grew to care about him very deeply. I thought I might even love him. Then came Jerome's first indiscretion, which as it turned out, was the beginning of the end for me. I forgave him for that act of infidelity. I even forgave him for the second one that occurred a year later. But this latest one . . . Shuniqua, this hoochie of a home-wrecker who I had even entertained at our backyard parties on several occasions, was more than I could stomach. I was tired of forgiving and forgetting. The forgiving fountain had run completely dry. I mean, good grief, we haven't even slept in the same bed in over six months because of his decision to seek intimacy elsewhere. Our sham of a marriage should have ended a long time ago. I had tried to end it, but Jerome kept holding on. Why, I didn't know. He sure made me feel worthless enough. All I seem to be good for now was decoration. In another few years my looks would begin to fade. Then what? I would most likely wait to be tossed aside like a worn pair of jeans that had seen better days. In some ways I felt like that now, worn and weary. He had used up the best of me, and I didn't know if there was much of me left to ever give to anyone else, or if I could even allow that to happen.

Pulling my mind forward, I sighed and tried to rid myself of the depressing thoughts. “You know what, Jerome? I do want to do this.” I tapped my manicured nails on the desk next to a framed photo of the two of us. It had been taken last year during a Caribbean vacation Jerome took me on to make up for his previous act of infidelity. To anyone who looked at the photo we looked like the perfect couple, so in love and so into each other. It was very deceiving. Our whole marriage had been a lie.

Monday, October 17, 2011

Thought for Today

“The secret to having it all is believing that you do.”

Author unknown

It's all in the attitude:-)

Suggested Reading

Book: The Outer Edge of Heaven

Author: Jaclyn M. Hawkes

About the book

Montana truly is heavenly. Especially those handsome cowboys.Filled with colorful characters of all shapes, sizes and species, including an orphaned baby pig, most of the Langston family put the fun in dysfunctional, give or take a couple of black sheep. There's one in every family, isn't there? Add to that glorious scenery, a horse of her own, and one extremely attractive cousin rancher, Luke Lanston, and it makes for a summer Charlie will never forget. Which might not be a good thing. She has the time of her life, but her heart may never recover.

Charlie graduated from college and planned to go to law school in Fall. Her mother has planned out Charlie's life and wants to set her up with a divorce attorney. Instead of going home, Charlie decides to go with her best friend to work on a ranch in Montana. She meets her friend's handsome cousin Luke Langston. Charlie falls for Luke, but he is already engaged to someone else. Then she has to fight off advances from Luke's brother Chase. And there are other dangers at the ranch.

I became a fan of Jaclyn Hawkes when I read her book Journey of Honor. I really like her writing style and she's a great storyteller. If you want a good clean romance, this is a good one.

To learn more about Jaclyn and her books, visit jaclynmhawkes.com. To purchase her books, log onto Amazon.com

Sunday, October 9, 2011

After attending a romance writers conference this week where I sat in on some great workshops and mingled with amazing fellow romance writers, I am freshly motivated to turn out better and better stories, and make J. Adams a household name in the book world.So, here are a few thoughts on perseverance:-)

The difference between perseverance and obstinacy is that one comes from a strong will, and the other from a strong won't. ~Henry Ward Beecher

When the world says, "Give up,"Hope whispers, "Try it one more time."~Author Unknown

The greatest oak was once a little nut who held its ground. ~Author Unknown

Fall seven times, stand up eight. ~Japanese Proverb

Stubbornly persist, and you will find that the limits of your stubbornness go well beyond the stubbornness of your limits. ~Robert Brault

Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after another. ~Walter Elliott, The Spiritual Life